Kerry Washington opened up to Robin Roberts in a new 20/20 special, detailing her long battle with an eating disorder and how it led her to contemplate suicide.

In the interview, Washington said she developed an eating disorder as a teenager and continued struggling for many years. “I was very ashamed of it,” she explained. “I didn’t want to talk about it.”

By the time Washington went to college, her eating disorder had become a vicious cycle of “abuse that utilized the tools of starvation, binge eating, body obsession, and compulsive exercise.”

“I could feel how the abuse was a way to really hurt myself as if I didn’t want to be here. It scared me that I could not want to be here because I was in so much pain,” she said.

According to the National Eating Disorders Association, about 30 million people suffer from eating disorders. Washington eventually sought help for her eating disorder and she is now in recovery. She hopes telling her story will help others struggling with eating disorders and suicidal thoughts.

“The first time that I actually got on my knees and prayed to some power greater than myself to say, like, ‘I can’t do this; I need some help,’ was with my eating disorder,” she said. “The behavior was just so abusive toward myself with food, with exercise, with starving -- with bingeing, with — it just was — I could not control it.”

“I want people to know that there is help available,” Washington added. “You don’t have to go through this alone.”

If you are struggling with an eating disorder or suicidal thoughts, don’t hesitate to call the National Alliance for Eating Disorders (The Alliance) at 866-662-1235 or The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255.

About the Author

Featured

8/26/17 - Atlanta, GA - Georgia leaders, including Gov. Nathan Deal, Sandra Deal, members of the King family, and Rep. Calvin Smyre,  were on hand for unveiling of the first statue of Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday at the statehouse grounds, more than three years after Gov. Nathan Deal first announced the project.  During the hour-long ceremony leading to the unveiling of the statue of Martin Luther King Jr. at the state Capitol on Monday, many speakers, including Gov. Nathan Deal, spoke of King's biography. The statue was unveiled on the anniversary of King's famed "I Have Dream" speech. BOB ANDRES  /BANDRES@AJC.COM

Credit: Bob Andres